PLANETARY EXPLORATION NEWSLETTER
Volume 2, Number 1 (January 4, 2008)
PEN Website: http://planetarynews.org
Editor: Mark V. Sykes
Co-Editors: Matt Balme, Nic Richmond
Email: pen_editor at psi.edu
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SPECIAL: A NEW YEAR'S MESSAGE FROM ALAN STERN, ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR
FOR NASA'S SCIENCE MISSION DIRECTORATE (SMD)
NASA Headquarters
As you likely already know, I took this position at NASA and formed a
new executive team at NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD) in the
early part of 2007. Since then, this new team and the Directorate's
staff have been working to effect positive changes in both the content
of SMD's programs and the style and conduct of SMD's affairs with the
science community.
Make no mistake, we understand that there is far more work in front of
us than behind us to turn SMD around, but we have already made some
very real progress. So as this New Year 2008 dawns, I want to provide
you with some examples of what we accomplished across our Earth and
space science programs since April of 2007 when our new team took the
reigns at SMD. Then I will say some things about the challenges that
face us this year.
But let's begin with some specific positive developments, which
included:
o The initiation of 3 significant new flight projects (Heliophysics'
BARREL, Astrophysics' NuStar, and Planetary's GRAIL).
o Approval following a senior review in the Earth sciences program
for extensions of all 11 operating Earth science missions in space.
o Re-manifesting of the OMPS-Limb sensor on NPP.
o Re-vectoring of the Explorer call for proposals now on the street
to fly three full missions, instead of just one as formerly planned.
o Conducting a breakthrough study that is finally moving the
long-desired Solar Probe mission within realistic grasp.
o Approval of two extended missions in the planetary program to
accomplish new flybys of comets (EPOXI and Stardust-NExT).
o Selection of two major US instruments to fly aboard the ESA ExoMars
rover in 2013, the extension of the MER rovers for two additional
years, the addition of sample caching to MSL, and a new push to
accomplish Mars Sample Return.
o Targeted increases in R&A programs, including Astrobiology and
suborbital research.
o Speedier proposal status notifications, a move from 3- to -4
year-long grants, and R&A grant process improvements that resolved
hundreds of individual grant funding problems.
o A wide-scale initiative to broaden and better coordinate
international collaboration in flight programs.
In addition, in 2007 SMD launched 4 new orbital and planetary science
missions (THEMIS, AIM, Phoenix, and Dawn), almost 20 suborbital science
missions, two major airborne Earth science campaigns plus some
rapid-response airborne remote sensing aid to the California wildfire
emergencies, and the first test flights of the SOFIA 747 airborne
infrared observatory - all without any significant mishap or
malfunction.
Further still, no fewer than six new SMD orbital missions reached their
final stages of development in 2007, and are expected to fly in 2008:
(OSTM, GLAST, HST-SM4, OCO, IBEX, and SDO. We also have the continued
development of 6 new NASA Earth science missions and a new Landsat
mission moving toward launch. And we look forward in 2008 to two
MESSENGER flybys of Mercury (in January and October), the Phoenix Mars
landing (in May), and the NASA Exploration directorate's launch of the
LRO and LCROSS lunar missions (October).
I think this recapitulation of recent accomplishments and activities
shows something important, and there is no reason for it to be a
secret: SMD is renewing itself.
Yet even with so much to celebrate, we have some very significant
challenges immediately ahead of us. Some of the most notable challenges
that we face in 2008 are:
o Making flight project cost overruns rare rather than routine;
o Repairing deep deficiencies in MO&DA and R&A budgets;
o Initiating the Earth science decadal survey flight program;
o Culminating key agreements with international partners; and
o Obtaining reliable but less expensive launch options.
We are tackling each of these issues - and others - head on. We are
also working to see new flight projects initiated in 2008, and to
further leverage our airborne and suborbital programs: We intend to
manage the SMD program to get more science from the budget we have, and
to better enable you to turn heads with the discoveries that result
from our programs. For after all, that is centrally why we have an
Earth and space science program at NASA - to make discoveries that
illuminate the workings of our home planet, its moon, its Sun, the
kindred worlds and the heliospheric environment of our solar system,
and the larger universe beyond.
Along with other senior leaders in SMD, I will be attending the AAS,
LPSC, and AGU conferences in the coming months, as well as various NAC
and SSB meetings, to say more about the content of our future program
and the steep challenges we face.
In 2008, we will be looking to you in the Earth and space science
research communities for advice, counsel, feedback, and most
importantly, new results.
In the meantime, best wishes for this fresh New Year.
-Alan Stern
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